Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Red Pepper Soup

Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Red Pepper Soup

-10 Roma Tomatoes Blanched to remove skins
-3 red peppers blanched to remove skins
-1 large onion
-4 cloves of garlic
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-900ml vegetable broth
-1 tablespoon herb de provence
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-salt and pepper
-1/2 teaspoon crush rosemary

-boil water and place an x with a knife on the tomatoes and place in boiling water for 1 minute, the skin should peel right off, do the same with the red pepper.  Preheat oven to 400.  Slice the tomatoes in half, place tomatoes and red pepper, onion and garlic in a bowl and coat with olive oil and spices.  Spread out on a cookie sheet (use parchment paper) and roast until onions, tomatoes and peppers are roasted nicely (about 40 minutes).  On the stove in a large pot combine the vegetable broth and roasted vegetables and bring to a boil, allow to cook for 10 minutes, then purée and serve.  Top with cheese, feta, old cheddar, etc.

The soup is delicious and worth the effort.

Fresh From the Garden Salad with Feta Cheese and a tangy dressing

My parents have an incredible garden in their backyard, this week my Mom gave me cucumbers, yellow and green beans, beets, and yellow cherry tomatoes.  Fresh vegetables are so incredible and packed with nutrients lost in travel.  So my salad is inspired by the freshness shared with me

Fresh From the Garden Salad with Feta Cheese
serves 4
Prep time 15 minutes

-1 cup fresh raw green and yellow beans, washed and sliced into bite size pieces
-1 small purple onion chopped
-1 cup of fresh cherry tomatoes (yellow, red etc) sliced in half
-1 cup fresh cucumber sliced
-2 tablespoons hemp seeds
-1/4 cup sun flower seeds
- Feta cheese crumbled

-Combine the veggies in a bowl, add the hemp seeds and sunflower seeds and top with feta cheese.  Serve with salad dressing.

Tangy Dressing

-2/3 cup avocado oil
-1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
-pepper
-juice of half a lemon
-1 teaspoon smoked mustard

Mix all together and taste.  Add some maple syrup if to tangy or honey.

Beet Salad with hemp seeds, walnuts, feta cheese and an avocado oil dressing

Beet Salad with hemp seeds, walnuts, feta cheese and an avocado oil dressing

-4 medium sized beets boiled, sliced and peeled and set aside to cool
-5 tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese
-3 tablespoons hemp seeds
-1/3 cup walnuts
-salad greens

Salad dressing
-1/2 cup avocado oil
-1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar
-fresh pepper

-boil the beets with skin on until cooked.  Peel, and slice and allow to cool, place in fridge so that they will not melt the feta cheese.  Keep the salad greens separate, place on plate.  Place beets, walnuts on top of greens and then crumble the feta and hemp seeds over top.  Mix the avocado oil and balsamic vinegar together and serve over salad and top with freshly ground pepper.